The Lord of Thunder’s sudden death leaves his daughter, Evelyn Stormbourne, unprepared to rule Inselgrau in his place. Weeks before Evie’s ascension to the throne, revolutionaries attack and destroy her home. She conceals her identity and escapes under the protection of her father’s young horse master, Gideon Faust. Together they flee Inselgrau and set sail for the Continent, but they’re separated when a brutal storm washes Evie overboard.

In her efforts to reunite with her protector and reach allies on the Continent, Evie befriends a band of nomads who roam the world in airships fueled by lightning. She also confronts a cabal of dark Magicians plotting to use her powers to create a new divine being, and she clashes with an ancient family who insists her birthright belongs to them.

If she’s to prevail and defeat her enemies, Evie must claim her heritage, embrace her dominion over the sky, and define what it means to be Heir of Thunder.

If you know me, then you know I have opinions on this subject. In addition to Heir of Thunder, I’m the author of an adult urban fantasy series called The Norse Chronicles, which, surprise surprise, is based on Norse mythology. I could make long lists of popular writers who have written about on mythology or included mythological elements in their books, but I bet most readers could make their own lists. Mythology is pervasive in both classic and modern literature as well as pop culture, and it doesn’t appear to be losing favor.

The ancient myths derived from mankind’s need to explain how the world worked. Thousands of years later, science has unraveled many of the big mysteries (we know a horse drawn chariot isn’t pulling the sun across the sky) but we crave an understanding of the world on a personal level, and mythology still exists to serve that purpose. It makes the complexities of life relatable. I believe that’s because, in its roots, mythology addresses basic human philosophies using highly identifiable archetypes. By that I mean the characters of any mythology (Greek, Norse, Hindu, Christian, Native American, etc.) are embodiments of core human characteristics and emotions like courage and fear, strength and weakness, love and hate, generosity and greed, peace and violence, wisdom and stupidity, ambition and apathy. In any time period, in any setting, and in any culture those themes remain significant and relatable.

I think that’s the same reason super heroes continue to survive in pop culture year after year. Super Man is today’s Hercules, Thor, Prometheus, Achilles, Samson, and Moses. Batman is Hades and the conflicted Lucifer. The Joker is a trickster god like Loki, Anansi, or Sinbad. Wonder Woman is Athena, Demeter, Freya, the Amazonian. Superheroes are somewhat literal interpretations of the ancient archetypes, but those epitomic characters exist everywhere. The strong warrior (male or female), the seductive beauty (also male or female), the betraying sneak, the mother, the wise teacher, the father—we see bits of ourselves—or the people we wish we could be—in these characters, and the proof is in the fact that they show up over and over in our favorite books, movies, and TV shows.

Here’s a few specific examples to help illustrate my meaning:

Neo from The Matrix series: Christ, Baldur
Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean series: Loki, Bacchus
Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City: Aphrodite
Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Athena
Harry Potter from the Harry Potter series: Jason (of the Argonauts) or Perseus

Humans are hardwired for stories—it’s how we’ve exchanged information since the dawn of time. In, The Storytelling Animal: How Stories make us Human, Jonathan Gottshall says: “We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories.” This, to me, is the ultimate explanation for why Mythology is still alive today. Mythology is the fountain of life from which all stories spring. It might evolve, or be reinterpreted for the times, but myths and legends will continue exist as long as humans continue to crave a connection to and an understanding of the world in which we live.

About the Author
Karissa lives in North Carolina with her kid, her husband, the occasional in-law, and a very hairy husky. Some of her favorite things are coffee, chocolate, and super heroes. She can quote Princess Bride verbatim. She loves to read and has a sweet tooth for fantasy, sci-fi, and anything in between. Sometimes her husband convinces her to put down the books and take the motorcycles out for a spin. When it snows, you’ll find her on the slopes.